As is clearly visible in the graph above, the data shows that many more companies are getting sued than were a few years ago. That's true even though the number of lawsuits has held relatively steady over the last 5 years. The increase in defendants, the next graph shows, is driven by software patents.

It's right there in the data. The problem is, of course, that software patents are the bread and butter of Microsoft's and Apple's campaign against their competitors, and as such, there is zero chance of the US government stepping in to finally ban these ridiculous patents. As long as the two largest technology companies rely on software patents, nothing will be done about them.